Improvement in devices for ornamenting the edges of books



F. E. GRADY.

DEVICE FOR ORNAMENTING THEEDGES OF BOOKS.

No.185,743. Patented Dec. 26, 1876.

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FRANCIS EDMUND GRADY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN DEVICES FOR ORNAMENTING THE EDGES OF BOOKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,743, dated December26, 1876; application filed June 22, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS EDMUND GRADY, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Device forOrnamenting the Edges of Books and for other purposes, which inventionis fully set forth in the following specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is an outside view of acylinder for ornamenting the edges of books, made according to myinvention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a segment of a mold, by aid ofwhich the cylinder is produced.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

The object of my invention is to provide more efficient means than haveheretofore been known for ornamenting the edges of books, such, forinstance, as blank-books for commercial purposes, and other books whoseedges are ornamented. One kind of ornamentation of such books iscommonly known as wax edge, and the method commonly used for producingit consists in sprinkling melted wax on the edge, so that it is coveredhere and there with drops of wax, and then painting the edge with paintor coloring matter. When the coloring matter is dry the drops of wax areknocked off, leaving plain spots at the places which were covered by thewax. This method has several disadvantages. For example, the wax isliable to work in on the leaves, obligin g the workman to look theleaves over, so as to clean off any wax that may have worked in; the waxis liable to grease the paper, and it is difficult for an accountant tokeep his books in a nice condition when there are such grease-spots onany of the leaves the odor of the melting wax is disagreeable; and,lastly, it takes a man about an hour to wax the edge of a single book,whereas by means of my invention a boy can be instructed so as toornament it in the same style in about five minutes.

My invention consists in an ornamenting surface or tool, made from thecomposition used for making printers rollers, and perforated orpunctured with numerous holes in such a manner than when color isapplied to its surface, and it is rolled over or brought in contact withthe edge of a closed book, the edge of the book will be colored here andthere, leaving uncolored spots here and there corresponding with theperforations or punctures in the surface of the implement, thusproducing the same effects in ornamentation as are attempted in thewaxing process, but in a better manner and more expeditiously.

In carrying out my invention I take a roller 0r cylinder, A, of thecomposition used for printers inking-rollers, preferring that known asFrancis and Loutrels, and puncture it with a suitable instrument so asto produce upon its surface a number of holes, B, of similar or ofvarious sizes; or I form the holes in casting the cylinder, in whichcase I make a mold, 0, whose interior is studded with fine pins D, thatproject inwardly from the inner surface of the mold, so that, on pouringin the melted composition into the mold, the cylinder formed thereinwill have a perforated surface, the plastic composition conforming tothe inner surface of the mold and entering the interstices between theprojecting pins so that the surface of the cylinder is formed with fineholes at the places where the pins project. In order to produce thisresult by casting, I

make the mold in narrow, longitudinal sections, like that shown in Fig.2, so as to be able to withdraw the pins from the surface of thecylinder without tearing it.

The perforated cylinder is applied to the book-edge in the followingmanner: The cylinder is inked or colored on a color-table in the usualway of taking up and distributing color on an inking or coloring roller,and is then rolled over the edge of the book, the result being that thebook-edge will be marked or ornamented corresponding to the surface ofthe cylinder, the unpunctured places being supplied with color andcommunicating color to the book-edge, while the punctured places arevoid of color and cause blank spots to be left on the book-edgecorresponding to the punctured portions of the cylinder.

When I make the implement in the form of a cylinder I place a shaft, E,in the mold, so that the cylinder will be cast around the shaft, and onthe ends of the shaft E I arrange a frame with a handle in the usualmode of making a hand inking-roller. In this manner I produce animplement having a perforated elastic surface, and one which will takeand impart color without injury to the article on which it is used.

My improvement is also applicable to the production of what is known asthe fsawdust edge, and to the production of various ornamentations ofthe edges of hooks.

My improved device can be made in difl'erent forms, if desired, and itis not necessary to adhere to the cylindrical form.

I hereby disclaim the inventions described in Letters Patent of theUnited Sta'es, granted June 28, 1864, to Stephen \Yiggin, No. 43,359,for improvements in graining, and in Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, granted February 12, 1867, to L. R. Witherell, No. 62,104,

